It was a busy few days for the North East Enhanced Partnership last week when it came to celebrating all the hard work that the team have put in to bring to life the new fares for those 21 and under, and the resulting ‘Get Round for a Pound’ campaign.

Tuesday was a trip to London to attend the annual UK Bus Awards, which aim to champion bus by recognising, rewarding and inspiring all those remarkable people that work within it. We are delighted to share the news that the North East Enhanced Partnership won the silver award (second place) for Marketing Campaign of the Year! We were particularly commended for our creative use of graphics and its application across social channels, in particular, TikTok to engage those who are 21 and under in the campaign. A big congratulations to all those in the partnership, and wider, who have supported bringing these fares to the market to make a difference to young people in our region.

In addition to this, the partnership between Arriva North East, Go North East, Nexus and Stagecoach North East won the Gold award for their efforts during the 2022 Great North Run in the Partnership for Excellence category. And finally, the Care Experienced Travel pilot initiative rolled out by Arriva North East, Go North East, Nexus and Stagecoach North East won the Silver award in the Bus and the Community category. We’re super proud of all those involved, it’s no mean feat, and there are some truly inspirational stories to come from this work.

Moving on to Thursday, we had a trip a little closer to home where we attended the North East Marketing Awards at St James Park, Newcastle. Although we didn’t go home with an award, we were honoured to have been a finalist in the Product Launch of the Year category for the same campaign – the Rugby World Cup were worthy winners indeed!

Thank you again to everyone involved in spreading the word about these great initiatives, and if you want to find out more about the 21 and under ‘Get Round for a Pound’ campaign, click here.